Technical Field
The present invention relates to a bumper apparatus for a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a bumper apparatus for a vehicle, which is configured to prevent the removal and flying of a bumper when a cushion of an external airbag is deployed.
Description of the Related Art
A vehicle is equipped with various kinds of safety apparatuses so as to protect a driver and a passenger against an unexpected situation. Representative examples of the safety apparatuses include an airbag apparatus that is intended to directly protect the driver and the passenger sitting in seats.
In the event of a vehicle collision, such an airbag apparatus is configured such that compressed gas is instantaneously injected into an airbag by an impact force, and the airbag is inflated rapidly by the compressed gas, thus protecting a passenger.
Such a conventional airbag apparatus is an internal airbag apparatus that is deployed inside a vehicle, and can protect a passenger inside the vehicle. However, the conventional airbag apparatus is problematic in that it cannot protect an ego-vehicle colliding with an external object, other vehicles, and pedestrians.
Therefore, recently, attempts are made to protect the vehicle and reduce an injury of a pedestrian when the vehicle collides with an obstacle or the pedestrian. As one example of the attempts, an external airbag apparatus is proposed.
Such an external airbag deploys the cushion to the front of a vehicle prior to a collision when sensing an obstacle, thus increasing an energy absorbing space and thereby reducing an impact force acting on a passenger in the vehicle and reducing an injury of the passenger, in addition to decreasing external damage to the vehicle.
Meanwhile, if the external airbag is installed between the bumper and a back beam, the cushion is deployed from the inside to the outside of the bumper while breaking the bumper. However, pressure generated by the deployment of the cushion may result in removing or flying a part of the bumper as well as components of a bumper assembly, and consequently the flying components may cause an injury of a pedestrian.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.